Author: RogersPatricia

My husband and I come from a generation where our first memories of the latest and greatest in mobile technology are a pager and a pocket full of quarters for the closest payphone.

So it still baffles me when I see young children constantly connected through Facebook and Twitter, tapping at the latest devices at record-breaking rates. Being recently married with thoughts of starting a family hot and cold in my mind, I find myself wondering: Do these children know how to use their wireless devices safely? Do they understand how to protect themselves from potential threats?

Before your child uses the wireless device, make sure to create a strong password and activate other security features.

Make sure your child understands the dangers of messaging and giving away his or her mobile numbers or other personal information. Here are some good general rules: Think before texting. Only share your number with people you know. Ignore messages from people you don’t recognize.

Learn how to turn off geotagging on your child’s phone so that photos don’t reveal their location.

Make sure you know how to block others from calling your child’s phone. Using caller ID, you can block all incoming calls or block individual names and numbers.

Teach your child to ask for permission before taking pictures or videos of their friends with their phone. Likewise, your child should be encouraged let others know they need to ask permission before taking photos or videos of them.

Smartphone theft has become an increasingly worrisome issue for Canadians. So we’re excited to announce the next step to help fight the battle against smartphone theft. The wireless industry is launching a national blacklist of wireless devices that have been reported as lost or stolen. When a customer reports a lost or stolen phone, we will add the device’s International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number to the GSMA IMEI database or “blacklist.” We’ll use this stolen device blacklist to check that the wireless device has not been reported lost or stolen by participating Canadian and U.S. carriers. If it has, we won’t activate the phone on the Rogers network. The Canadian stolen device blacklist will also be available to participating carriers internationally through the GSMA IMEI database.

As part of this initiative, the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA) has also launched a lookup tool on the www.protectyourdata.ca education portal. Consumers can simply enter the IMEI of a pre-owned wireless device to find out if it has been blacklisted on the GSMA IMEI database.

Here are some additional tips for protecting yourself and your device data against theft:

Always be wary of your surroundings when carrying or using your phone. One moment of distraction is all that is required for a potential thief to steal your device.

Protect your data by making sure your device is password protected.

Keep track of your IMEI number by writing it down and storing it somewhere safe. You can access your number by typing *#06# in to your device or by looking behind the battery on the back of your device.

Install an application that will enable you to remove/erase data from your device remotely in the event of loss or theft.

For more useful tips, visit www.protectyourdata.ca. Also, check out this post on what you should do if your phone has been lost or stolen.

At Rogers, we take our commitment to listening to you, our customers, seriously. Not only do we have a process in place for you to voice your concerns and resolve your issues quickly, we’re also the only telecommunications provider in North America to have an Ombudsman to provide an independent review of your unresolved concerns.

In 2012, 91 per cent of customers were satisfied with the Ombudsman’s resolution, according to the recently released Annual Report. As well, the majority of customer cases received by the Office of the Ombudsman were resolved within 30 days.

Step 4: Write to the Office of the Ombudsman, either by mail, fax or email.

The Office of the Ombudsman is the last step in our Four-Step Complaint Resolution Process, and most customer concerns get resolved quickly and efficiently by our Customer Care agents. But in the rare event that your concern can’t be resolved in the first three steps of our standard escalation process, the Office of the Ombudsman is there for you.

Click here to read more of the Office of the Ombudsman’s 2012 Annual Report.

found that more than 8 out of 10 Canadians are logging screen time on a device in addition to a television.

We know how frustrating it can be when you can’t stream a video because your internet connection is not fast enough. And while most would assume it’s an issue with your internet service itself, we have some newly released data that shows this isn’t always the case.

Based on a recent study by SamKnows, an independent leader in broadband performance testing, SamKnows has found that Rogers customers received, on average, 106 per cent of advertised download speeds when our network is the busiest. By comparison, U.S. carriers tested by SamKnows performed at an average rate of 97 per cent during peak periods. In a separate study of broadband speeds in Europe, SamKnows also found European ISPs delivered only 74 per cent of advertised speeds during peak hours.

If you’re experiencing some issues with the speed of your internet connection, these handy tips from Tech Essentials can help you troubleshoot:

Make sure your wireless router isn’t slowing you down: If you’ve signed up for a fast internet plan, you need a fast wireless router to get all that speed. If you have an older router, data won’t transmit as quickly over Wi-Fi, and you might not get a connection as fast as you’re paying for.

Locate your router centrally in your house: Main or upper floors are better than basements. Also, position your modem and router away from other electronic devices.

Beware of spyware: Spyware, malware and viruses can cause your computer to slow down. Install anti-virus/anti-spyware software and run it regularly.

Choose a strong Wi-Fi password and set your encryption to WPA2: Strangers freeloading on your Wi-Fi may slow down your network’s performance.

The best connection is a wired connection: Connect your modem directly to your computer using your Ethernet cord, bypassing devices such as routers, to get a better connection.

For more help on maximizing your Internet speeds, visit the Rogers Community Forums, a friendly community of Rogers customers eager to help out.

We’re serious about speed too and our network engineers pride themselves on delivering the speeds we advertise. So late last year, we started working with SamKnows, an independent world leader in broadband performance testing, to conduct speed performance testing based on real customer connections.

The results are in and we’re happy to report that our customers aren’t just getting their advertised speeds – they’re often getting more.

Here are the highlights:

Customers on our Lite, Express, Extreme, and Extreme Plus packages all received average speeds of at least 100 per cent of advertised speeds on both uploads and downloads.

Rogers customers received, on average, 106 per cent of advertised download speeds when our network is busiest. By comparison, U.S. carriers tested by SamKnows performed at an average rate of 97 per cent during peak periods. In a separate study of broadband speeds in Europe, SamKnows also found European ISPs delivered only 74 per cent of advertised speeds during peak hours.

Preliminary data suggests that customers on our Ultimate package also get their advertised speeds. But because the sample size is small, we’re continuing to test with more connections to validate these results.

We get a lot of questions here on RedBoard about device unlocking. How does it work? What are the restrictions? What does unlocking even mean?

Here’s a quick guide.

So what is unlocking anyway?

By unlocking your phone, you can use your wireless device with a SIM card from another mobile carrier. This is a great benefit to customers spending extended time away in other countries that need to stay connected.

What are the restrictions?

When you purchase a wireless device on a new or existing Rogers account at full price, you are eligible to unlock it immediately.

For those customers who are under a term commitment, we have made some changes to our device unlocking policy to give you more flexibility in the way you use your wireless device. In March 2013, we’ll be changing our policy so that you no longer have to wait until you complete your full term commitment – you can unlock 90 days after activating your device on the Rogers network. We’re also making it even easier for you to have your phone unlocked by bringing it to any of our Rogers retail stores.

How much will it cost?

You can unlock your device for $50 plus applicable taxes.

Update March 6th, 6pm:Hi everybody. We’re happy to announce that our new unlocking policy will be implemented effective March 28th.

As our lives become more connected online through mobile phones and social networks, it’s important to educate ourselves about internet security and the threat of cyber-crime.

October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month, and the Government of Canada has launched the Get Cyber Safe national public awareness campaign, which provides helpful information and tips on how to keep you and your family safe online. Here’s a few highlights from the campaign that we think you might find particularly useful:

Creating and Using Passwords

Make sure your password has at least eight characters and avoid using common words that can be found in a dictionary

Use different passwords for different accounts, change your passwords often, and commit them to memory

Avoid using automatic login features that save your username and password